The subject matter disclosed herein relates to the art of turbomachines and, more particularly, to a method of removing a rotor bucket from a turbomachine rotor wheel.
Steam turbines typically include rotating buckets or blades and stationary nozzles. Steam is passed through a number of turbine stages. Each stage includes a row of stationary nozzles and rotating blades mounted to a rotor wheel. Steam expands through the number of turbine stages to rotate rotor wheel creating work.
The buckets are typically mounted to the rotor wheel through a dovetail attachment. The rotor wheel may include an internal, circumferential dovetail. Each bucket or blade has a corresponding dovetail that cooperates with the internal, circumferential dovetail. Generally, each rotor wheel features a loading position or gate opening configured to receive each bucket. Each bucket is mounted to the rotor wheel and manipulated into place about the outer diametric surface. Once all buckets are mounted, a closure bucket is installed in the loading portion and secured to the rotor wheel to prevent bucket liberation.